Capeshots From Irene

This was submitted by our Cape Blogger. (Having some connectivity issues here in Broadneck!)

Well, our household escaped the ravages of Irene relatively unscathed. Many small limbs are down in our yard, and of course the power is out. I think the whole Cape went down at the same time based on the Facebook updates I saw. 

We all hunkered down in the basement for the night with the pets and slept fitfully while the winds blew likewise. Daybreak revealed that Irene was still not quite done with us but perhaps had already done her worst. 

After a quick survey of the property, my husband and I went about the work of snaking extension cords from the generator to all the necessities, first and foremost the well and coffee pot followed by the refrigerator, toaster oven and miscellaneous chargers. We bought our generator in anticipation of Isabel, and it has proved a worthy investment. We are seriously considering going with a whole house propane generator in the near future. For now, the old Honda is doing a fine job for us. 

Once electricity was flowing, hubby, Laika, and I hopped in the truck and took a slow ride around the Cape. We didn't stay out long so as not to be in the way, and I would recommend the same to all. 

While we didn't see any terrible devastation, we did find plenty of damage in the form of downed trees. A few were blocking roads or down over power lines, and some were on top of cars and houses. We also saw a good Anne Arundel County and BGE work crew presence setting about the work of clearing roads and piecing our power grid back together. Again, I would stay off the roads as much as possible to give them time and room to work. 

I'm no expert, but I'm guessing days rather than hours of outage for many in the Cape. The BGE website is currently reporting 108K Anne Arundel customers without power. We will need to be patient. 

Here are some of the pictures I took this morning. Everyone be careful out there and help each other out. Keep those generators away from your houses in well ventilated areas, and be smart with the extension cords. As we approach nightfall, assuming the power is still out, be careful with candles. Irene was destructive enough without adding to it with carbon monoxide poisoning, electrocutions, or fires. Stay safe, Capers.